Mixed Verdict By The French Court Causes Mixed Feelings Amongst Affected People

Even before the verdict was handed down, it was clear the proceedings were about much more than Abdelkader Merah.

On The Trial Of The Brother Of Mohammed Merah In Paris

The brother of Mohammed, Abdelkader Merah, was accused of helping out the murderers. Mohammed killed children and teachers at a Jewish school which was alarmingly shocking for mankind. One soldier and two of his colleagues were also shot dead. The incident was marked as the first wave of attacks in France which was executed by homegrown Islamic extremists.

Eric Dupond-Moretti, lawyer of Abdelkader Merah, speaks to journalists at the Paris courthouse

Lawyers and families and friends have varied feelings about the verdict in fatal Islamic extremist attacks on a Jewish school that stunned everybody to breathe freeze.

A French court convicted Abdelkader Merah who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for terrorist activities but later found him not guilty of collaboration in his brother Mohammed’s killings.

The mother of one of the killed soldiers, Latifa Ibn Ziaten, cried at the verdict and expressed her regret that the court didn’t take extensive measures to clear the case thoroughly. She hopes that Abdelkader Merah thinks of the kinsmen of victims every night.

Simon Cohen, lawyer of the victims of the Ozar Hatorah school answers journalists’ questions, on October 2, 2017 in Paris court house, before the opening of the trial of Abdelkader Merah who stands accused of complicity in the series of shootings commited by his jihadist brother Mohamed in Toulouse and Montauban in 2012. Mohammed Merah killed three children and a teacher at a Jewish school in Toulouse, and three French paratroopers in two other attacks, before being killed himself on March 22 following a 32-hour police siege at his flat.

Lawyers for the victims were welcoming towards the court’s decision for handing Abdelkader the maximum sentence for criminal association with a terrorist enterprise. It feels like a partial victory to them.
The defense lawyer, Eric Dupond-Moretti, welcomed the court’s decision to absolve him of complicity as proof of the independence of the justice system. He says that Merah has been made a scapegoat for his brother.

A tense emotional trial was conducted after which Abdelkader Merah was sentenced to prison for 20 years by a Paris court.

The trial was the only opportunity for the vulnerable at the moment family members of victims to seek public justice as Mohammed Merah was already killed by the police.

Abdelkader Merah, now 35, has always denied helping Mohammed prepare for the deadly berserk but was accused of serving his brother. Mehar denied any sense of contact with his brother on the day or before the attack. He claimed that he was not in touch with his brother for quite a few months. The detectives investigated and came out with conclusions that Merah is right to some extent. The brothers truly have stayed out of contact, but shortly before the killing day, contact was made.

It has been a big issue and difficult period especially for the family of the students and teachers who innocently became a part of the rampage. Families wanted the terrorists to be punished. The encounter of Mohammed gave them a slight sense of satisfaction, if not completely. But when Abdelkader was found not guilty, disappointment could be easily seen on the faces of the relatives. The hoped and wished for the court to look into the matter deeply and make a decision that would give them justice.

The trial has caused mixed feelings for the people due to the mixed verdicts. It is expected to last for five weeks. About 50 witnesses and experts too would be listened too.